


Songbird

by Holly_and_Ivy



Category: Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber
Genre: Bittersweet, F/M, Raoul is good and should be appreciated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-18 01:01:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21519337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Holly_and_Ivy/pseuds/Holly_and_Ivy
Summary: Its been two months since Christine left the underground cavern with Raoul, and she couldn't have looked more in love. But like all picked flowers, Christine began to wilt. Though it hurts, Raoul will do anything for his love.Even let her go.
Relationships: Christine Daaé/Erik | Phantom of the Opera, Raoul de Chagny & Christine Daaé
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	Songbird

**Songbird**

“Look, we need to talk.”

Christine didn’t turn, her eyes fixed on the garden below. The glass fogged against her breath as she let out a deep sigh. “Yes Raoul?” she breathed. No inflection reached her tone. A beautiful voice with no life to bring light to it. Raoul stood in the door of Christine’s bedroom, gripping the doorframe to keep himself rooted to the spot. This was not a conversation he wished to have.

This wasn’t a situation he had thought he would be in.

“May I come in?”

“Please.”

Raoul crossed the doorframe, closing the door behind him. The impropriety of the situation was not lost on him, but with everything that had happened, he found he didn’t much care. He took a seat on her bed which sat directly across from Christine.

This did make Christine turn, but not for long. Raoul held her eyes for a brief second before they were gone. What he had seen confirmed every reason he had come up with to speak to Christine now. He cleared his throat to speak, and Christine turned to face him however, eyes downcast. Seeing her almost made Raoul forget what he had wanted to say. What he had practiced saying to her for almost three weeks.

“You know that I love you.”

Christine’s hair slipped forward as she bent further into herself. The sight was pitiful, and Raoul almost turned and fled. Raoul was an emotional man, always had been. But it hurt to see the love of his life so empty and _lost_. But he continued.

“I love you. That is why I have to let you go.”

“What?” Christine’s voice was quiet. Her chocolate eyes had snapped to meet his in shock. Of all things she had expected to hear from him, that had not been it.

Raoul took a breath. “Little Lottie, I’ve realized that I’ve misread you. From the moment I reunited with you in the dressing room to now I’ve been misinterpreting things. You’re a songbird Christine. This house, and these rules will crush you. You struggled against _him_ because he wouldn’t let you fly. I don’t want to do the same to you Lottie.”

“You aren’t crushing me Raoul,” Christine said, tears welling in her eyes. She got up slowly and sat beside him, several inches between the two. “What’s happened to make you… Do you regret getting engaged to me?”

“No!” he said quickly, “of course not. But it’s been impossible to reach you. So far away, thinking of who knows what. Gazing through the window for hours. You aren’t happy here Christine.” Raoul ran a hand through his hair and down his face. This was hard.

“I am happy!” she protested, brows knit together in confusion. She caught the man’s eyes and saw the tears. Christine realized she had never seen Raoul cry, and yet here he was, for her, and felt awful. Another man willing to do anything for her, crying because of her. Another broken heart because of her own confusion. The tears trailed down her face and her lungs started to burn. The erg to sob just behind a veil.

“Are you?” he questioned. But Christine inability to form an answer was answer in itself. “I have to let you go if I want you to be happy, and if _he_ is capable of that then… I have to let you do what makes you happy. Clearly, that’s not with me. But what is certain is that you love music. A life with me would not be able to feed that love.”

“I can live without music.” She argued.

“Like I without air.” He shot back not unkindly. Raoul took a deep breath and sighed. “And…”

Christine looked at him expectantly. “You miss _him_.”

Again, her lack of response was enough. Christine’s eyes were turned downcast and her pale hands trembled. The veil had opened, and Christine sobbed. “I’m sorry,” she said trying to catch her breath. Raoul’s heart ached deep in his chest, and he wiped away the tears on his own face. He pulled Christine into his arms. “I can learn to live without them. I’ll be better.”

Raoul paused after hearing her words. With his straining voice, he responded, “I don’t want you to be better. I want you to be you. What I want is for you to _get_ better because you’re going to waste away here.” He rested his head on the top of hers, holding the shuttering woman. “You aren’t happy here, and I can see it. I can see you’ll get sicker of mind each day, until one day…” he broke off as his voice cracked with a sob.

“I love you,” she whispered into his chest. Raoul held her tighter and nodded.

“I know, but not more than you love music. And that’s alright. You’re meant for a world on the stage. Love isn’t enough to keep either of this happy.”

A long time passed in silence, the two clinging to each other. Tears were dried and begun again several times before either could speak.

“You’re right, Raoul. I’m not happy here. From the moment I left the opera house, I’ve felt strange and lost. After father died, singing was my reprieve. To be on the stage has always been my dream, its ben my life for so long. I can’t leave it behind.” she asked, looking up into his watery eyes. “And my angel, he gave me that reprieve. Taught me to live again and inspired my voice. If I am to go anywhere, it would have to be back to him.”

Raoul didn’t respond right away, collecting his thoughts. “Life isn’t a choice between me and _him_ Christine. You can go wherever you want to with your beautiful voice. Your happiness isn’t with me, And maybe, it’s not with _him_ , either.” He said quietly despite knowing that if Christine went back to her Angel, she would be happy. And Raoul’s heart broke because the truth had really sunk in. Her happiness wasn’t with him. It never would be, and he would lose her.

He would lose Christine. His Lottie. His childhood friend and the love of his life. It hurt in ways he hadn’t hurt before.

“I know Raoul, but he created my voice and so my passion lies in him.” She smiled sadly at the blond man. “The light I need to flourish lies in the dark,” she said simply.

Raoul rested his cheek on top of Christine’s head and thought. To go back to that deranged goblin of a man… But if he made Christine feel alive again, then Raoul would not complain. “If you return to him, don’t let him cage you, Christine. _You_ , not just your voice, but _you_ need room to soar as well.” Raoul whispered. “If he doesn’t, I’ll be right back down there to knock some sense into him.

“Oh Raoul, I’m so sorry. About all of this. You risked your life for me, and you’re giving up your own happiness for me now too. It was all so confusing before, and it still is. I love you both.” She explained. Raoul smiled at her.

“Don’t you worry about that Lottie. I’ll be happy if you’re happy. And what happened at the opera was a whirlwind. The very atmosphere was charged it felt,” Raoul shivered, remembering back to the tense months in the opera house. Everyone had been so emotionally charged at every moment waiting for the other shoe to drop. “I will say, not everything that happened in those months was bad.” And Raoul joked, “had I not shown up, the opera house would have been frozen, and the status quo would never have changed. Just think, your angel revealed himself to you after I spoke to you.” Christine sighed.

“You’re right again I suppose. We were all set into motion once you came,” she chuckled. “Maybe the story isn’t over though, only in a lull.”

* * *

So, Christine reunited with her Angel, and there were tears from all parties involved. Within ten minutes, Christine looked happier than she had in the two months she had been with Raoul, which hurt to admit to himself. But he loved Christine too much to keep her, so he let it go.

Raoul decided to leave the two despite ho improper it was to leave Christine alone with this man, but Raoul was not a hypocrite, and he knew that Erik would be nothing but proper when it came to his Christine, now that she had returned. In the end, that thought was what comforted him when he returned home with a heavy heart and a tear stained face. His hurt would fade, and Christine would be happy.

And all being fair, it wasn’t as though he had been written out of her life completely. He was now just a different character, and for Raoul, that would be enough.


End file.
